In impressive English just 24 hours after touching down in Australia for the very first time, Del Piero handled every question with grace and good humour.

And he turned on his diplomacy skills to handle the inevitable question about THAT penalty in 2006 against Australia when he insisted Fabio Grosso was "tired" at the end of the match - and the wind might have pushed him over.

Jokes aside though he said he was won over by the package presented to him by Sydney FC and he has come here to win - but also leave a legacy to the sport in this country.

His first task is to bring in the football-loving immigrants in Australia who have so far snubbed the A-League...and vowed to "wake them up".

But his first stop is likely to be a petting zoo - to show his son Tobias a kangaroo after using that carrot to lure his family to shift their lives Down Under for the next two years...or more.

Del Piero told the press his first impressions of Australia had been good.

"Everything was perfect with me," he said. "It's a big situation for me but when I see it with my own eyes, it's not a surprise but it's a surprise, it's a good surprise.

"I don't know what it's like with the jet lag - it's the first time for me. I'm here it's really exciting and thats the most important thing. It will be fine in the next few days.

"Most of my friends say okay Ale, you want to change but there is a lot of places closer than Australia but I say this is the best place for this moment.

"I think this now and will think that at the end of the season. I'm here to win, not to past time with my family. I'm here to win.

"I know it's hard, it's very hard. I know there is a lot of expectation [of me]. I love that. At Juventus I had to win every match, every day, every year.

"It's not easy. How to stay with my team well from the first moment and then we can build a victory. It's a long way but we have to do that. It's my first objective."

He added: "The project explained by [Sydney CEO] Tony [Pignata] and (agent) Lou [Sticca] is very interesting and the patient [confidence?] is one of the most important things for me, I feel patient [confident?] in his words and in this project.

"Sometime I decide by feelings but this is not only with feelings, it is with the head and the heart and the feeling and I'm sure that's okay.

"I saw a few [Sydney] games but the most important thing was what is happening inside the team, the feeling more inside the team with the trainer but I don't think it will be a problem for us because I am very happy to be here.

"Everyone told me the same thing. The most important thing  is I learn better my English for the team and for the rest of my life but I don't think that will be a problem!

"I don't know now [what will be the most important thing in the next two years]. I will have to do a lot of things in the next two years and work out what the most important thing is later.

"The most important thing is stay focused on the present. That's a big change for me. I don't know what will happen later.

"I am coming from two months training with my personal trainer with a young team in Italy and I do everything I can to stay in better condition.

"Now I need to go with a team to play with a team to know the other players and know what the coach needs and to play together. But I hope that will be a short period.

"I know it is different from Italia but it is also not at winter time. In Italy we play in -5C, -10C sometimes and here I know that doesn't happen. This is good for me!

"I know it is a young league but I think about the Australian people that a lot of Italian emigrated, a lot of English and Greek and Croatian and other Yugoslavian poeple.

"In everybody I think there is soccer blood and we ought to wake that up.

"I saw the rugby World Cup in New Zealand in 2011 which is very close to here. That was a great moment for the sport and I hope this will be the same for soccer here and for all the sports movement in Australia.

"All my family is excited about this project and we are sure to have everything we can do in Australia. Family to stay close is the most important thing which is why they travel with me and why we are here the first day we can come.

"We hope to live in Sydney and Australia and every part and every situation it is a two or more year for us."

Talking about the 2006 World Cup, he added: "It was one of the most tough games for us because Australia was a great team.

"A lot of the players playing for a few years in European Championship, they mixed a lot of different experience in English and France and Italian league and secondly, we were down to ten after half an hour.

"We talk about Fabio a lot of times. He said to me that he was really tired in the last minute of the game in injury time. I am probably thinking that's why, the wind and something else put Fabio downstairs...

"Sometimes there are some moments when you have everything and for us, 2006 was a perfect World Cup. Everything goes in the right place and also that match and that's why we won."